OPEC ministers meeting on the sidelines of an international conference in Riyadh are unlikely to increase output, OPEC delegates said on Monday, even though unrest across the Middle East has driven oil well above $100.
Several oil ministers have repeatedly said any OPEC discussion on the fringes of producer-consumer talks in the Saudi Arabian capital on Tuesday was likely to be informal and that the market has plenty of oil.
Oil prices, however, have continued to climb and on Monday breached $105, the highest in more than two and a half years as the revolutionary tide that has toppled presidents in Tunisia and Egypt spread to Libya.
“The situation in Libya is temporary. We are not concerned and I don’t think OPEC will take any action,” a Qatari delegate told Reuters.
Dozens were reported to have been killed overnight in Libya as anti-government protests reached the capital of the oil-producing nation for the first time.
An Iranian delegate noted reports some oil production had been halted in Libya, but said “the situation is not serious for OPEC yet”.
One delegate said raising output could be counter-productive.
“I don’t think OPEC will take any action to raise production now because a rise in output would put the market in panic and prices would rise further,” the delegate said.
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